Matt has been spending a lot of time out in our vineyards lately, and it’s a beautiful time of year to be there—even with the heat waves we’ve been riding through.

If you look at the clusters, you’ll notice a lot of variation in berry size. The French call this millerandage, but around here we call it “hens and chicks.” It’s a good thing: smaller berries mean more skin relative to juice, which gives the wines added complexity and concentration.

Since we’ve had a few questions about how heat affects grapes, here’s the scoop: when temperatures soar above 100°, the vines actually shut down to protect themselves. Below that threshold, heat can push ripening along—accelerating sugar and color development. With this in mind, we’re bracing for an earlier harvest than usual this year.

You may also notice a chalky look on some clusters—that’s sunscreen for grapes! Vineyard crews apply a thin layer of inert clay that reflects sunlight and keeps the fruit from getting sunburned. It comes off during fermentation and doesn’t affect fermentation or the finished wine.

Sunnyside Vineyard 55 year-old vine with new trunk development

Inert Clay on grapes at Gemini Vineyards

Back at the winery, we’re finishing up our last bottlings of the year and giving the cellar a good clean and tune-up. Harvest is right around the corner, and we’re excited to welcome back some of our veteran harvest crew.

Vineyard Highlights

Sunnyside Vineyard – Looking fantastic. Tom and Luci have been rejuvenating the Riesling block by training up new trunks to replace old ones that had lost steam. Sunnyside is always one of our later-ripening sites, and this year looks no different.
Gemini Vineyard – The new Gamay block is thriving, and we can’t wait to fold it into our Gamay program. We’ll also be getting a little Chardonnay from them this year—shhh, it’s our secret “Secret Chardonnay.”

If you see us buzzing around the winery yard as harvest kicks off, don’t be shy—stop by and say hi. We’d love to show you what we’re working on.

From the Vineyards

Gemini Vineyard - Gamay Noir and one of the resident chickens

Krista Garver